Stationary is love.

Took advantage of pay-as-you-wish night and toured the Museum of Arts and Design last night, and spent half the time at their gift store in the stationary section (*shocks*).

I discovered and was fascinated by the “In a Word” greeting cards by Connecting Dotz.

They look like this:

And the back of the cards explain what these words mean and their cultural origin.

Some of my favorites are:

Grok
(grahhk; rhymes with)
Martian, from the novel
Deep, intimate understanding
To establish a singular rapport with somebody, or gain an instant deep spiritual understanding of something. Connotes an exhaustive knowledge. Emphatic form is “grok in fullness.”
This one is from Stranger in a Strange Land!!! had to do extensive research on this book in APUSH for we didn’t start the fire project. good memories.

Lagom
(la-GOOM)
Swedish
Just right, perfect, no need for more
Lagom describes an optimum state.
In contrast to “more is better,” lagom ar bast translates as “Enough is as good as a feast.”

Ubuntu
(oo-BOON-too; oo as in “spoon”)
Xhosa & Zulu, South Africa
The kindness and compassion which come from understanding each of us is part of a greater whole
Sometimes described as “I am because you are,” ubuntu expresses a social and spiritual stance of respect, concern and compassion for one’s family, neighbors and ancestors.
Never knew this even though I’ve been fooling around with linux ubuntu.

Mamihlapinatapai
(Ma-MI-luh-PEE-na-TAH-pie)
Yaghan, Tierra del Fuego, South America. ENDANGERED LANGUAGE
A meaningful look between two people, expressing mutual unstated feelings
Literally means “ending up mutually at a loss as to what to do about each other.” This is the unmistakable look of shared understanding

Yuen
(yoo-EN, said quickly)
Mandarin Chinese
A connection that is meant to be
Certain people are meant to find each other…

And you can get these for my birthday here. JK!